I used a razor blade with a box cutter. Worked fine.

I haven't finished building Super Minipla Daizyujin, yet, but having completed the Tyranno mecha... I think I prefer the more recent standard minipla.

I still don't know whether I got a defective tail or if I managed to somehow break it without noticing, but I'll have to work out some kind of workaround for the tip of the tail.

Needing to use tools to get the pieces off the sprues isn't in itself a problem, but the leftover scoring/discoloration is. On standard minipla, this tends to be minimal and relatively easy to scrape away. Here, it's a production every! single! time! I've experimented with using various tools (exacto, sanding surface) to remove it, and doing so is rarely very effective, and sometimes makes it worse. I'm sure experience might well allow me to get better at it, but as it is, assembly is more stressful than fun, and the white marks that get left behind look really glaring to me.

This is also irritating to me because I encountered at least two pieces that had extra sprue that doesn't connect to anything attached. I assume it's a byproduct of the production process, but in practice, it meant additional ugly separation points for no functional reason. (I'm going to feel extra-stupid if there was some functional purpose to this, but the build instructions don't show those bits.)

There are little things I appreciate so far, like how the Tyranno head and neck piece fit neatly into the chest compartment. I appreciate that I didn't have to sticker the face (although the cuffs around the jaw are another matter, and the provided stickers don't look great), and the other stickers are clean and look good. The molding makes it clear that it would look great painted, too, but I don't feel the need to. I like having a separate instruction sheet rather than squeezing everything onto the box interior. I can tell the plastic seems sturdier than usual, but building the Kyuranger minipla was a significantly more pleasant activity.

Are there upsides I'm missing?

So.... series 5 of the Kyuranger mini-pla is now up for pre-order on Amiami.

Of course, I have no idea what happened to series 4. Nor do I have the slightest idea what this one contains. It has no 6 box version, so you'll be getting two of whatever it is. I believe it's that Gigant Houou, but who knows.

Personally, I'm not going to preorder it until I know what it actually looks like.

Thanks for the heads-up. Yeah, I'm not fond of how long Bandai waits to release images, given that preorders tend to sell out long before we have any idea of what we're buying.

It's strange to up preorder for series 05 before 04, may be an error ?
I will wait at least for 6 box set for preordering even if I think this is the movie set with cerberus and copies of previous voyager to have the summer movie robot...

As seen on the back of ryuteioh boxes, Series 4 is planned for july.
Source : http://nodokalife.com/wp-content/upl.../IMG_50592.jpg
It should be gigant houoh as the DX version is planned for the same date.

i got one of those chrome markers and tried to paint the chest. these things are kinda tricky and its hard to get a really smooth coat but this is about as much effort as i want to give. i thought about chroming the other parts too but i didn't want to put it anywhere i might accidentally touch since this stuff doesn't seem to hold too well with wear and tear and any type of clear coat seems to completely dull it.

http://i.imgur.com/vlXvaEg.jpg

Did you use Gundam markers or something else ?
I am considering buying some when I go in japan next time, but I didn't know if the result was great. From what I see on your picture it seems to be !

Bandai site is updated with photos from super minipla dragon cesar
It also seems that it will available only in august and not july.

Bluefin is bringing Megazord stateside. Releases in July.
http://bluefinbrands.com/bandai-shok...power-rangers/

Is it really worth 60 dollars? I just feel conflicted.